We are lucky to work with such a lovely set of clients and have occasionally thought it could help them with their businesses for us to highlight them to our other clients and blog readers. We are therefore going to be creating a client spotlight post on a regular basis to introduce you to our client base. I met earlier this week with Claire Wakely, who runs Weave & Wood Interiors in Ilminster. Claire has been in the soft furnishings and interiors field for many years. Just a few years ago she decided to open up a retail outlet to showcase her skills and talents, along with the beautiful fabrics and many other products that she can supply. Having made a great success of this she now has a larger showroom and is an official stockist of Little Greene paint and paper. These beautiful products are luxurious and long lasting and will help make your home a unique and beautiful place to be. Click here for Little Greene’s website. Claire’s services include custom made to measure curtains, roller blinds, pelmets and cushions. These are bespoke products, made to your specification with fabric chosen from her huge selection of sample books. My own mother has had her living and dining room curtains made and hung by Claire and is delighted with the product and service she received. There is surely no better recommendation than a whole host of satisfied and repeat customers. Weave & Wood stock Romo fabrics and these are my personal favourite. Click here for Romo’s website. Claire’s showroom in Silver Street, Ilminster, is a treasure trove...

Becoming self employed is a dream for many people but there are a few things you need to know before you embark on the exciting journey of being your own boss. Business Structure You may need to think about the business structure that you need. Thousands of people begin as sole traders and this does suit most start-up businesses but it may be worth asking advice from a trusted business advisor to make sure that this is the best structure for your business. If you are going into business with one or more other people you can set up a partnership or a limited liability company, both of which come with pros and cons of their own. Regardless of the of business structure you choose you will need to register yourself as being in business. It may be as simple as filling in an online form with HMRC or could be slightly more complex depending on your requirements. If you are in any doubt at all you need to speak to someone who can impartially advise you about the process. Legal Responsibilities You must check if there are legal requirements for your type of business. Do you need a licence or a permit or some type of insurance? Being self employed is not just a case of beginning trading! Where Where will you work? Can you run your business from home or do you need an office or storage space? If you’re to be manufacturing goods do you need a factory or processing plant? If you rent or buy a business property you will need to register for and...

For a small business owner trying to choose a piece of accountancy software can be a minefield of Googling, mixed reviews, baffling terminology and an array of information that cannot be easily understood, analysed or assessed. Most accountancy practices and bookkeepers will have their favoured software but how do you know which suits your particular business? The first thing to consider is that you will need, in the not too distant future, to comply with the HMRC MTD (Making Tax Digital) requirements. Although in some ways these are not yet totally clear, some aspects are obvious and include accurate record keeping and storage of data in a way that can be easily shown to HMRC, your accountant, bookkeeper, bank or other interested party. Returns will be submitted quarterly rather than annually and so it will be ever more important to be in control of the information about your business. We recommend the use of a cloud based software provider as it allows access to you as the business owner from anywhere with internet at any time but also makes the transfer of information from you to your clients, and you to your bookkeeper or accountant, seamless and quick. QuickBooks is an internationally recognised product which fully complies with HMRC requirements, both now and also when MTD is fully implemented. We are able to provide training in all aspects of QuickBooks so that you can fully utilise all of its features. There are also many add-ons that work with QuickBooks to make the running of your business easier. Contact us for more information about software choices and QuickBooks. Share this:Click to share...